Cerium phosphate nanotubes: synthesis, characterization and biosensing

Cerium phosphate (CeP) nanotubes have been synthesized and confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The 1D nanomaterial has a monoclinic crystal structure with a mean width of 15–20 nm and a length up to several micrometers. The nanotubes have been employed as electrode substrates for immobilization and direct electrochemistry of heme proteins/enzymes with myoglobin (Mb) as a model. The electrochemical characteristics of the Mb–CeP/GC electrode were studied by voltammetry. After being immobilized on the nanotubes, Mb can keep its natural structure and undergo effective direct electron transfer reaction with a pair of well-defined redox peaks at −(367 ± 3) mV (pH 7.5). The apparent electron transfer rate constant is (9.1 ± 1.4) s−1. The electrode displays good features in the electrocatalytic reduction of H2O2, and thus can be used as a biosensor for detecting the substrate with a low detection limit (0.5 ± 0.05 µM), a wide linear range (0.01–2 mM), high sensitivity (14.4 ± 1.2 µA mM−1), as well as good stability and reproducibility. CeP nanotubes can become a simple and effective biosensing platform for the integration of heme proteins/enzymes and electrodes, which can provide analytical access to a large group of enzymes for a wide range of bioelectrochemical applications.